Our position statement on the N. Highland Lake Road project

Position Statement on N. Highland Lake Road (STIP project no. U-5887)

How do you compromise on a project that’s unnecessary?

Cultural Landscape Group:Flat Rock is opposed to the N. Highland Lake Road project for the following reasons:

• The road presents no safety or capacity issues per NCDOT data.
• The project was not initiated by NCDOT.
• Using $2.7M of taxpayer money on an unnecessary project is wasteful.
• Private property will be taken for a nonessential purpose.
• With increased width, dampened curves, and added turn lanes, traffic speed will increase and safety will decrease per traffic study data. 
• One of the gateways into the village will be forever negatively impacted.
• Community stakeholders were not part of the process in determining if this was a necessary project, contrary to NCDOT’s Context Sensitive Solutions guidelines.
• How this project is handled will affect decisions on future road projects in the village. 

The Flat Rock village council has the power to cancel this project. We ask that they do so.

Once this project is stopped, there will be time to consider the feasibility of a new park entrance and/or bike/pedestrian paths. To use a road “improvement” project at the cost of $2.7M to gain amenities that cost far less would be misguided governance.